All recipes

The Girls traveled to New York City for the first Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party. Boy, did they do it right! The event was hosted by Danny Meyer and his team of chefs and pitmasters (see first photo) from Blue Smoke. You may have read about Blue Smoke, a restaurant devoted to offering New York a taste of authentic BBQ. One of the partners is Mike Mills and he brings authentic BBQ experience to the city slickers, making Blue Smoke the closest thing to real barbecue that you can get in the City. For the event, the top four pitmastrs in the South set up "camp" on a rain-soaked 27th Street in front of the restaurant. Featured barbecuers were Mike Mills from Murphysboro, Illinois, (BBQ partner in the Blue Smoke venture), Ed Mitchell from Wilson, North Carolina, Chris Lilly and Don Mclemore from Big Bob Gibson's in Decatur, Alabama, Rick Schmidt from Kreuz Market in Lockhardt, Texas, and Kenny Callaghan, chief pitmaster of Blue Smoke, New York City.

The first time I visited the South of France, I fell in love with this medley of eggplants, zucchini, tomatoes and bell peppers. It is best in the late summer, when the vegetables are fresh-picked and at the height of their flavor. I’ve created a grilled version which is even better the day after it is made. Serve with grilled fish, chicken or even tossed with hot pasta. The first time I visited the South of France, I fell in love with this medley of eggplants, zucchini, tomatoes and bell peppers. It is best in the late summer, when the vegetables are fresh-picked and at the height of their flavor. I’ve created a grilled version which is even better the day after it is made. Serve with grilled fish, chicken or even tossed with hot pasta.

These grits will make you forget that you have meat on your plate. Anson Mills grits are hand milled to a coarser grind than commercially distributed grits and the corn is specially grown for maximize flavor. Even people who think they don't like grits, love these grits. Cooking them in a mixture of cream and water is my version of the South Carolina low-country tradition.

I love the fresh sophisticated flavors of this salad but my favorite part is the eews and aahhs that I get when I serve it with a big beautiful curl of authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano. The trick is easy. Buy an uncut chunk of fresh Parmigiano and using a sharp vegetable peeler, “peel” a thin piece of the cheese from the chunk in one motion and Viola! You’ve got a fancy restaurant Parmesan Curl!

There is nothing like a burger and fries to hit the spot! And this burger and tofu fries does that classic one better! The fries are smoky and salty with a toothsome texture that comes from firm tofu that is seasoned with soy sauce and basted with olive oil before grilling over direct heat. Dipped into warmed, sweet and spicy barbecue sauce, I bet you'll eat all the fries before you even take a bite of your burger!

If you are into gilding the grill a little, try these Bacon and Cheddar Knockwurst Wrap-Arounds. They can be assembled in advance and grilled just before serving, making them perfect for lunch or an end-of-the-day dinner. If you aren’t familiar with Knockwurst, they are “short, thick highly seasoned sausage.” We prefer the all-beef variety and eat them just like hot dogs or other sausages grilled plainly or dressed up like this recipe. This cheddar-stuffed, bacon-wrapped recipe must be grilled over indirect heat or the cheese and bacon will burn before the “hotdog” is done. This is one recipe where your patience will definitely be rewarded.

Bruschetta is a favorite Italian restaurant appetizer and this version combines the authentic Italian with the adopted American technique of a tomato topping. I added bacon because it makes everything taste better, especially tomatoes and grilled bread! Make this recipe at home and you may find that you like this grilled version better than most of the restaurant versions!

It is the Girls new favorite hostess gift and we think it is best presented in an old-fashioned mason jar, but you could give it away as a party favor in plastic bags and we are sure no one would complain!

OK, the Superbowl is over and now, you have to get back to eating right. Right?! Well, I'll tell you what eating right is, this little delicacy called Bacon Peanut Brittle.

It is absolutely addictive and a great thing to do with any leftover peanuts from Sunday's game. I created this "pig candy" a few years ago for a "pork-in-every-course" class that I was teaching called Swine and Wine. The brittle was the after-dessert mignardises.It was a whim when I first made it, but one that I have seen catching on lately.

Because it is smoky, sweet, salty and savory all in one bite, it makes a great snack, appetizer or dessert. And, because it is so satisfying, you really don't eat that much of it—I mean, your teeth would be aching and your jaw would be sore if you sat down and ate a whole batch at once. I love making it and bringing it to friends as a hostess gift or setting it out with assorted nibbles and bits when I have people over for drinks. When the brittle is cool, I place the shards in an old-fashioned mason jar, but you could give it away as a party favor in plastic bags and I am sure no one would complain!

The key to making the brittle crystal clear (see picture) instead of cloudy is making sure that the bacon is not over-cooked or burned (dice raw bacon and cook slowly over low heat) and that all the excess fat is drained away from the bacon. I do this by wrapping the drained bacon in a few layers of paper towels and gently wringing it out. Other than this, there is no trick to making the brittle.

If you want to really up the ante, make it with Schaller and Weber's double-smoked bacon. It is by far the best bacon I have ever tasted and I have tasted them all! If you don't live in the New York area, you'll have to order it by web or mail but it is well worth the wait!

And we are here to tell their secret; you can make them yourself at home quickly and easily! The Girls usually cut the steaks themselves because beef tenderloin sells for an average of $19.99 to $24.99 a pound, and often times the already cut filets (sold as filet mignon steaks) sell for about $5.00 more a pound. Besides, when you buy a whole or a half of a tenderloin, you can make sure that the filets you cut come from the center and not just the ends of the tenderloin!

This is a favorite of the barbecue circuit and it is one of those recipes that taste much better than it sounds. Even the biggest naysayer can’t keep his hands off the cabbage once it is done. The real trick is to cook it until so tender that you can pluck a leaf from the center without any resistance.

The Girls suggest you get your Omega-3s and a great dinner with the Northwest’s traditional Cedar-Planked Salmon tricked up with your favorite barbecue sauce. You can purchase cedar planks at almost any housewares or gourmet store or go to a local lumberyard and have them cut it for you, just remember to buy untreated cedar!

Buy head-on shrimp, take them home, grill ‘em and spill ‘em on newspapers to peel and eat—dipping into either melted butter or a spicy horseradish cocktail sauce. Serve this recipe “barefoot” with frosty bottles of beer or Sweet Southern Iced Tea.

This is the basic recipe for beer-can chicken whose origin has as man stories as there are grill cooks.

The one I like goes something like this. A barbecue pitmaster had been drinking beer—the official sanctioned barbecue circuit beverage--all day when he realized that he was going to need to eat something if he was going to last all day and into the next morning tending his slow-cooked barbecue. So, he opened his rig (a smoke-grill big enough for several whole hogs) and set his beer down on the cooking grate to get something small to cook from his cooler. He picked up a chicken and put it on top of his half-full can without noticing what he was doing. He looked for his beer, couldn’t find it and popped open another one without a second thought. That is, until he opened the grill an hour later and, lo and behold, perched on his smoker was the first beer can chicken! Regardless of the story, it is truly the best chicken any of us girls have ever tasted!

This dough recipe is so fast that can start it when you get home from work and be eating your pizza thirty minutes later. This food processor method can also be done in a mixer with a dough hook attachment.

To make the dough heartier, use a combination of whole wheat and white bread flour. The best ratio is 25% whole grain flour and 75% all-purpose flour. If you use too much whole grain flour, the crust will be leaden, not light and airy.

Grilling a turkey is one surefire way to eliminate turkey trauma—especially at Thanksgiving! It leaves your oven available for baking side dishes and dessert and is so easy that it practically cooks itself. No need to baste, wrap in cheesecloth or any other time-consuming techniques. Once you experience how easy it is, you’ll be grill-roasting a turkey every time you need to feed a crowd.

Becky is a dear friend and the inventor of the much coveted Barbecue Pie. A few years ago, the Girls were at a party in New York City and we looked over at an empty platter (15 minutes after the party started!) and said, what was there? Whatever it was, it must have been great because it was GONE, BBQ, Gone! Elizabeth asked around and found out that it was none other than Becky’s Deep-Dish Barbecue Pie.

The trick here is to pre-cook the bacon for a few minutes to get the fat rendering and then assemble the skewers. The bacon is mostly for seasoning and flavoring the filet and mushrooms as they cook, but why waste good bacon? Serve it up with the rest of the kabob ingredients.

When I went to cooking school in Italy a few years ago, I fell in love with their very simple technique of grilling steak. In Tuscany, they serve Chianina beef that rivals Japan’s Kobe beef in flavor and tenderness. Ask your butcher for either prime or Certified Black Angus and have the steaks hand-cut unusually thick, about 2½ inches.

This vinaigrette is right out of restaurant tricks 101! It is often used to fancy-up simple grilled fish like halibut, tuna or swordfish. It is also great on grilled peppers, eggplant and zucchini and dynamite on a grilled chicken salad. Black olive puree or "tapenade" can be found in a jar in the imported (French or Italian) section of the grocery store. You can use this same basic recipe and substitute pesto for a fresh herby dressing for corn, tomatoes, pasta salad and fish.

Greetings LadyBug Club members and welcome to GrillNEWS #186. The month of August is all about street festivals in Chicago and though there are lots of great artists and craftmen at the fairs, our favorite part (no surprise!) is the fun food. The Girls’ favorite street food is something we call Blistered Mexican Corn-on-a-Stick. It is corn that is blistered over an open fire, doused with butter, mayo, queso fresco and sprinkled with Chile powder.

Bloodies aren’t just for breakfast anymore! The girls love a bloody while they are chopping away in the kitchen or tending the grill outside. And we can’t think of a better way to eat your veggies besides grilling them of course!

We were talking about our favorite Butter Burger and trying to figure out how we could make it even better when Elizabeth came up with the idea of stuffing the burger with Boursin cheese instead of butter. The Boursin still gives the burger that unctuous richness that we love in a Butter Burger but the soft cheese gives us more flavor—garlic and shallots and herbs. We tried it and liked it and think you’ll like it too! You can serve this burger with the usual suspects but if you really want to gild the lily, toss out the same ole ketchup, mayo and mustard and slather the bun with the extra Boursin instead—we can’t think of anything better!

Chef Susan Goss’ grandmother always served these soup beans with fresh cornbread that she cut in half and buttered generously before topping with the beans. If you can’t find a ham hock in your store, substitute a chunk of meaty bacon or cured ham.

I like to cut up my own chicken, but if you buy pre-cut chicken, cut the breasts in half to make the pieces easier to manage. I like to brine the chicken pieces for at least 2 hours, but even an hour makes a difference.

It has been years since I learned to make competition-worthy barbecued baby back ribs. And I still consider myself lucky to have learned from some of the best in the business.

My first year at the barbecue competition Memphis in May, the head cook from a team called Bubba's Bunch befriended me and taught me to make ribs the same way barbecue great John Willingham did. Willingham was the creator of the amazing all-purpose barbecue rub known as W'ham Seasoning. And it is amazing stuff.

Following my rib tutorial, I made those ribs more times than I can count, and have taught them many times in my barbecue classes. I named the recipe after the team who taught me, and they are perfect for a first-timer. Or if you are like me, it may become your go-to recipe for ribs.

All you need are a love of great barbecue and three ingredients — meaty baby back ribs, lemons and my W'ham-inspired rib rub. You can make these on a gas or charcoal grill or a smoker

This recipe is my version of ribs that won a Memphis in May Patio Porkers contest a few years back. These guys took me under their wing and taught me everything they knew—or so they said—about barbecuing pork ribs. Their secret was marinating the ribs in lemon juice before rubbing spices into the meat. I’ve streamlined their process with cut lemons and a homemade rub.

This recipe was created by my barbecue buddy Steven Raichlen who definitely has perfected cooking over an open fire. It is a little more involved and a little more advanced but the end result is worth the patience it takes to make this recipe.

The real stars in this recipe are the breads, cheeses and toppings for the burger bar. This is especially useful for anyone having a drop-by cookout when your guests will be coming and going throughout the party but expecting to eat. Grill the burgers in stages so they are "hot off the grill" most of the evening.

Since everyone expects to top a great Caesar salad with grilled chicken, we are offering this unexpected variation: a shrimp version of the very popular Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad. It’s great for people who prefer shrimp to chicken or for those that want a change of taste! Buy the raw IQF (Individually Quick Frozen) jumbo shrimp and keep in the freezer so you can be at the ready to make it for any last minute drop-in guests or yourself!

Little did Elizabeth know that she would LEARN something new about NC ‘QUE! (That rhymes in case you missed it!) Anyway, much to her dis-belief, Stamey’s and a lot of other famous barbecue restaurants in Carolina serve their Barbecue with a side of—not slaw, not hush puppies—but a HOT DOG (smothered in slaw of course!).

For me, keeping party stress to a minimum means prepping as much food as possible in advance. That way when people are arriving, all I need to do is heat, plate and eat. This also lets you focus more energy on how the food is presented, which -- especially for a party -- can be nearly as important as taste.

One of my favorite party tricks is to use cedar wood planks for both cooking and serving. I love the look of the ruff hewn wood plank piled with food. And if the edges are a little charred, so much the better. One of my tried and true party appetizers that works with this technique is a grilled glazed brie with fresh fruit.

This recipe is a streamlined version of the baked brie I used to make. Back in the day, I would cut open the wheel of cheese, stuff it with fruit and nuts, then close it back up and bake it. But I like this glazed version better. It's simpler to prepare and looks more appetizing with all the delicious hot "filling" toppling over the side. I serve it with assorted fruit and water crackers, but baguette or your favorite crackers would be just as good.

I make the fruit and nut mixture in advance and keep it in a jar in my refrigerator so I can throw it together when friends drop by unexpectedly, or just when I am feeling like a treat. It works best on a small 8-ounce wheel of brie because the rind will contain the oozing cheese as it heats up.

You can use a slice of brie instead, but make sure that you don't heat it too long or all of the cheese in the center will melt and puddle out. You want the cheese and toppings to be just warmed.

The cedar plank adds a kiss of flavor, makes it easy to bake in the oven or pop onto the grill, and becomes your serving platter as well. I also use these planks as serving trays for lots of my little dishes. In fact, we use them in my restaurant as trays for passed hors d'oeuvres when we host special events.

One of my favorite uses is for chili con queso and chips. I heat the spicy cheese dip, pour it into a hollowed-out red pepper and serve it with chips on a wooden plank. Even a simple cheese platter is dressed up by the rustic slab of wood and makes an impromptu wine and cheese party feel more special.

You shouldn't have any trouble finding food grade cedar planks. Most grocers sell them near the seafood and meats. If you buy them from a hardware store, be certain that they are untreated.

Grilling on a cedar plank is an old Native American cooking technique that is finding it’s way to backyards all across America. You can purchase fancy packaged planks at gourmet cooking stores or rough it and have a lumberyard cut the planks for you. They are exactly the same, just make sure you use untreated cedar wood.

Try this recipe with center-cut pieces of wild salmon. If wild salmon is not available, farm-raised salmon will work as well. Ask your fish monger to stock the wild salmon – it may be a little more expensive, but it is worth every penny.

This week, the Girls are getting out their pre-election frustrations by making Chicken Paillard with a Greek Farmer’s Salad and that heavenly garlic-cucumber-yogurt sauce called tzazaki. The fresh lemon and oregano rub infuses the thin pieces of chicken (called paillard), making it sparkle with flavor. Served on top of a Greek farmer’s salad (a.k.a. Horatiki) and dressed with the pungent tzazaki, it’s a dish that’s hard to beat. If you’re not a yogurt person, the chicken is also good served on the salad with a spicy oregano vinaigrette. Have fun pounding the chicken and…don’t forget; your vote counts just as much as the next girl (or guy)!

This soup is made with store-bought broth and rotisserie chicken, which shortens the preparation time considerably. (If you usually make your soup from scratch, you may be surprised at how appealing this shortcut can be when you are rushed.)

This First Place at the National Cornbread Festival recipe is a sure-fire winner dinner. The Southwestern-style recipe is from Jenny Flake who lives in Gilbert, Arizonia—it’s a contemporary version of a skillet supper.

Every time I make these shrimp indoors, I set off the smoke alarm. It's a ringing affirmation that I have hit the crowd-pleasing jackpot. Whether they are cooked on the stove or an outdoor grill, they always disappear instantly. XL shrimp are a bit pricey, but a couple of these memorably seasoned shellfish per person is all that it takes to impress. The recipe multiplies effortlessly to create a winning appetizer for any size dinner or cocktail party.

Every time I make these shrimp indoors, I set off the smoke alarm. It's a ringing affirmation that I have hit the crowd-pleasing jackpot. Whether they are cooked on the stove or an outdoor grill, they always disappear instantly. XL shrimp are a bit pricey, but a couple of these memorably seasoned shellfish per person is all that it takes to impress. The recipe multiplies effortlessly to create a winning appetizer for any size dinner or cocktail party.

These light and chewy chocolate almond cookies are reminiscent of the famous French sandwich cookies. They taste more like macaroons than meringues and are the perfect choice for a “dressed-up” ice cream sandwich.